"Women’s IPL can be a big turning point for us" - Harmanpreet Kaur

Harmanpreet Kaur pressed on the need for India's young female stars to have their own full-fledged women's IPL for exposure. 
 
Harmanpreet Kaur was in top form with the bat during CWG T20I final. ?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

The India skipper highlighted the importance of holding the WIPL and her team's journey to bag the Silver at the CWG 2022. 

The women's IPL is once again the point of attention in aftermath of India's painstaking loss in the final of the Commonwealth Games 2022 T20I event on Sunday (August 7) against Australia. 

The talk revolves around whether a full-fledged IPL will alone have a positive impact on the women's game in the country or deeper structural changes are required in the domestic set-up for proper transformation. 

Either way a women's IPL is needed, reiterated India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who thinks a league that gives the youngsters exposure to quality cricket under pressure while rubbing shoulders with the best in the world will only benefit the national team in the long run. 

Harmanpreet believes the WIPL could prove to be a major turning point for the senior women's side, which would have its talent pipeline strengthened when those on the fringes get the wealth of experience under their belt before graduating up the international ladder. 

"Women’s IPL will be a great platform" - Harmanpreet Kaur 

Harping on the necessity for Indian players to have their own full-fledged T20 league, Harmanpreet Kaur told India Today: "I think women’s IPL can be a big turning point for us. Our players do get opportunities to play overseas leagues. I feel, domestic players will get a great platform in women’s IPL."

"We have talented women’s cricketers in the country but many of them don’t have the experience of the big stages. Women’s IPL will be a great platform for them," she added. 

Harmanpreet carried a sombre look about her after the gutwrenching loss to Australia in the final in Birmingham, with her team finishing nine runs short of their longstanding nemesis, who made 161/8 batting first on a dryish surface. Despite the Indian skipper playing a valiant knock of 65 off 43 balls, India could only muster 152 all out in the second half. 

The defeat would've also given her a sorry reminder of the loss to the same opposition in the T20 World Cup final two years ago in Melbourne. But Harmanpreet managed to keep her emotions in check at the post-match presentation ceremony and made it a point to highlight the importance of the Silver medal her troops won. 

"I'm happy and satisfied with the way we played throughout. I know we were close to winning gold, but all around our performance was great. This is the first time we got to play in this tournament and we're happy to have won a silver medal," she said. 

"A medal is something people back home will get inspired by, and they could start playing cricket. As a team, we want to inspire young girls. Doing well on this platform will motivate a lot of people back home."